This invention concerns a frontal connection between a cosmetic cover -- preferably made of foam rubber -- and a solid wooden, plastic or similar part of skeletal prosthesis, such as a foot or hand part.
Present-day prostheses consist of a bearing skeleton, e.g., a tubular skeleton, and a molded cosmetic cover made of synthetic material, usually foam rubber. For the coupling of the functional parts, for example foot and knee joint or hand and forearm joint, to the tubular skeleton, adjustable connecting links are used. The bonding of a cosmetic cover to, for example, a foot is accomplished by gluing the frontal end of the cover directly to the foot part or by inserting the frontal end into a hollow space provided inside the foot.
The disadvantage of glued adhesion lies firstly in the fact that in case of repair or readjustments of the skeleton, or when exchange of the foot part becomes necessary, the adhesion surface must be cut open, thus damaging the cosmetic cover. In this instance, renewed gluing is difficult and the cosmetic effect is greatly reduced.
The insertion of the cosmetic cover into a hollow space is of disadvantage because a sufficiently tight hold cannot be achieved and the unavoidable formation of creases greatly reduces the cosmetic effect.